Blazing Striker
by GhostOfOnyx
Summary: His entire life had been dedicated to his club, and now he has to face reality as everything he worked for crumbles to ash around him. Now faced with the consequences of a desperate gamble and crippling habits; an aspiring young athlete is faced with an ultimatum that betrays every sacrifice he's made so far. He has no choice but to leap and believe in a little blonde fairy.


**Hey guys! Ghost here! Back here with the best way to jump back into writing-a new story! Here's the first chapter, I hope you guys enjoy it! With the phenomenal season Leicester City had this past year has just completely inspired me to write this story. It's been one I've wanted to write for a while, I just wasn't sure with how to present it, and well I think I found a way. Well here we go!**

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He fell to his knees as his exhaustion finally overcame him.

The deathly blare of the final whistle resounded and seem to swallow up his entire being. He listened in apathy, through his labored breathing, to the meager cheers and claps from those in the thinning crowd who had enough sympathy to applaud the lackluster performance, most of them were probably here for the visiting team anyways. It wasn't too often a big team came to town. The world around him seemed to slow as the results of the game had finally hit him. Away: 6 _\- 1: Tuly Village Warriors._ That is the final tally that the scoreboard reported. The rosy haired man lifted his white jersey to wipe away the sweat that ran down his face. The numbness that ran throughout his body made it all seem a bit too surreal.

In all honesty it's not that this result wasn't really expected. This was a regional game and some of the top teams in the country were in their region, but that just doesn't make up for all of the mistakes that they made. That _he_ made...and this time the cost that they'd pay, that _he'd pay_ , was one that was much too high. The young man tightened his grip on the sweat soaked white fabric. As he relinquished his grip, he allowed his slightly blurred vision to focus on the proud logo of the Love and Lucky trade group that emblazoned its front. _"Damn it..."_

Releasing his shirt he made an effort to stand but before he was able to make it to his feet, the player found a shadow looming over him. As his gaze shifted upwards they saw a navy blue uniform, dark raven hair, and a pair of blue eyes glaring back down at him. He happened to know exactly who this was.

Without saying a word, the opposing defender jutted out his hand. For several seconds he stared dumbly at the outstretched hand through his labored breathing, his synapses not making the connection of exactly what to do despite firing off well... _something_.

"Well are you going to shake it or what?" The other man scoffed, a slight twinge to his brow signified the man's increased annoyance.

Tentatively the young striker gave a series of small nods and proceeded to drearily lift a hand. After the quick shake the opposing player immediately turned around and began walking off with seemingly not another word to be said, he paused just once and turned his head as if he were to say something, but he could only guess that he decided against it.

Heaving himself onto his feet, he dared not even look his teammates in the eyes lest he wish to provoke the brewing tempest of emotions that ran through him. He wasn't sure exactly how he should be feeling at this very moment, but certainly one look at the rest of them and the surely crushed faces of his comrades would completely destroy whatever little resolve he had left at this very moment. He could feel the burn of tears build up behind his eyes as his frustration grew. His legs felt dead and heavy...they'll be sure to be sore tomorrow. He couldn't even begin to _try_ to jog off to the sidelines. Just from what he could see in his peripherals it didn't seem like anyone else was too excited to get into the locker room and see what Macao had in store for them anyways. He was more than comfortable with just taking his time. So they all simply just made their way to the tunnel in silence, he could hear the sniffle and sobs of those who couldn't keep their emotions in check as they bounced off the metal walls ahead of him. Not one of them said a word. He was slightly tempted to put on his usual front, his toothy smile and goofy attitude, for the overly enthusiastic group of kids that always waiting there for him as he passed, but as he was he couldn't even look up at them. He was too ashamed. He could feel the beading blue eyes of his biggest supporter beaming down at him as he tried to garner his attention to no avail. They boy had made every home game they played for the last two seasons.

Upon entering the locker room, he was surprised to see that nearly everyone had already gathered in the locker room. Some turned to look at him and others were simply too distraught to even care. The atmosphere in the room was most certainly heavy, an almost suffocating frustration rolling through the air as he took his seat in the back.

 _"I wonder if he already broke the bad news, huh..." he thought dimly._

Everyone turned towards the rosy haired player and gave the boy a once over before turning back to their manager. The purple haired man had a pipe in his mouth and held a solemn look. He pursed his lips in a tight line.

"So as I can imagine, you all knew that our sponsor had given the team's board a list of objectives to meet for the season." The air seemed to stiffen even more, and he could feel he blood freeze in his veins. This was expected...They all knew it somewhere...but still it feels so-

 _"Fuck."_

"We needed to place at least 5th in the regular season -"

 _"There's only 3 games left and we're in 11th."_

" and the _one damn year_ we don't make it through the qualifying stages for the Open Cup...the round of 32 happened to be an objective. So boys I'm sorry to say this..."

 _"No."_

"We're at the end of the road here."

 _"Please no."_

"The club no longer has the means to take care of itself, and it doesn't seem like anyone else is willing to sponsor us."

He clenched his teeth painful, tears rolling down his cheeks freely onto the white pressed knuckles of his interwoven fingers.

"We're a bottom tier team, ticket and merchandise sales are down, we need to carry out your contracts, and most of all the stadium is in massive need of repairs." Macao's voice seemed to go hoarse itself, the usually stoic man falling himself into the wells of emotion. The purple haired manager searched for the right words as he fell into silence momentarily. "Al-Although its turned out this way I just want to let you all know I would've never wanted to do this with any other group of young men. You're all a great bunch of lads, and it has been an incredible journey watching some of you grow up...I'm sorry that I couldn't live up to the standards of my predecessor as your coach...and no matter what I asked of you guys- you went out and you played with heart- and that's more than I could have ever asked for...but maybe now, just maybe you'll all be able to move on to something greater."

He could've said more, but it was all just went in one ear and out the other as the boy's thoughts raced. A swirl of memories and emotions all bubbling up to the surface at once. It all seemed so overwhelming. Suddenly, there was a pregnant pause for several seconds as Macao seemingly composed himself snapping him back into reality. The players huddled in the cramped humid room were all speechless. Each without a word to be said between themselves.

"So why don't we all just go home and get some sleep for tonight. You all played very hard tonight, you can take tomorrow off and I'll pass on more information later this week at Wednesday's practice."

Slowly but surely, one-by-one the mob of morbid men began to stand up and amble silently over to the lockers to collect their belongings. Few seeming indifferent to the situation but did their best to hide their sorrow. Macao took his time addressing those of which came up to talk to him while some of the others filed out. Eventually it was just the rosy haired boy stuck in his thoughts and a handful of other players who remained.

Miss.

"Natsu I want to see you in my office before you leave, there's something we need to discuss."

Miss. _Miss. Miss! MISS!_

"Natsu?"

"Huh?" He grunted grunted through cheeks unashamedly puffy and swollen.

"Come on into my office lad, I need to talk to you about something."

 _"Macao I swear..." He felt his anger begin to stoke the tempest in his chest as he stalked towards the office neatly tucked away into the corner of the locker room._

The door closed behind him with a soft click just as Macao was taking a seat at his desk. Macao leaned back in his leather bound chair and lit his pipe and threw the lighter back down onto the cluttered surface. He drew in a long drag and exhaled. The smoke wafting lazily into the dark air as the clocked ticked monotonously in the background.

 _"You son of a bitch_ Macao."

"No." Natsu said firmly with a snarl; his nose crinkling in disgust.

Macao looked at him blankly for a second before taking the pipe out of his mouth. "I know we've talked about this before but its different this time-"

Natsu took three heavy strides forward and slammed his hands onto the desk. Macao, to his credit, hardly recoiled. "Nothin' is different than before," he seethed. "This is it - if this club is going to shit, my career is going with it."

"Natsu, calm down, you're not thinking rationally-" Macao tried to persuade but to no avail.

"Not thinking rationally?" Natsu sniped, "My father built this club from the ground up, and if you think I'm just going to _walk_ -"

"This club is dying Natsu! Hell its already dug the damn hole! For heaven's sake just do what your Dad would want and _at least consider-_ "

"Like you'd know what he'd want!" Natsu screamed and slammed his fist down yet again.

"He certainly wouldn't want you working at that damn store for the rest of your life!" Macao yelled, a deathly silence filling the air.

Natsu had to bite his tongue at that one, the geezer struck a sore spot, but that didn't stop him from glaring heatedly.

Macao drew in a deep breath and calmed himself, placing his pipe on the table as he did so. "Natsu you've been the most talented player at this club for years now. You've been loyal beyond reason- even when some hefty transfer offers have came in, but I can't just stand by when I can only imagine the torture you're about to put yourself through."

Natsu kept his glare leveled and relaxed his jaw allowing his words to flow from the tempest within.

"I deserve to have my career ended if I couldn't even keep this team alive. How can I just move on when I failed all my teammates out there tonight, huh?! You think any team would want me after that pitiful shit fest?!"

Macao looked at the boy incredulously, "Natsu, you banged in a thirty yard volley against one of the, if not the, best goalkeeper in the nation."

"So what?! None of that matters when I had 5 shots and that was the only one on target! What's a damn Striker worth if he can't even finish Macao, huh?" Natsu said hoarsely. The boy could feel his vocal chords start to quiver.

 _"Not here. Hold yourself together."_

"I don't know what you're going on about Natsu," Macao said as he opened a drawer and threw a portfolio down on the desk. It was labeled Magnolia Fairies, and had an odd looking symbol below the script. "Why worry yourself with any of that when the proof of interest is right there in front of you."

Natsu stared blankly at the folder, not sure what to make of it. He'd never even heard of the team before.

"Apparently they're some new team starting up over in the city. They're starting in the third tier of the FFL like us, but according to some sources they've already managed to coax some pretty big names from the upper class to come down and play for them."

"...They even extended an offer to Max as well. I'm pretty sure he'll accept. He seemed pretty convinced this morning when I'd talked to him about it."

Natsu flinched at the sound of Max's name, that was another problem he didn't want to deal with at the moment either. His expression only darkened as he picked up the portfolio-slipping Macao's lighter along with it, "I can't even give this place the transfer money, what the hell is wrong with me."

With a swift flick of his wrist Natsu ignited the portfolio and tossed it into the empty metal trashcan at the foot of the desk. He turned and stormed out into the empty locker room, leaving a flustered Macao in his wake. After collecting his things, he made his way to his car.

 _"God this is going to be a long night."_

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 **There we go, first chapter done! Please review and follow! Hopefully this was intriguing enough for a hook chapter, can't wait to further develop the plot. Don't worry though, future chapters will be longer. For those of you following my other stories, don't worry I have something really special planned! As always my friend, stay golden.**


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